THR Not old yet but getting right hip done.

[Jaycey]

Stay ahead of the pain is key at this point. Do ask for alternate or increased meds if you need them. All this is short term but getting the cocktail right is sometimes tricky. Ice, ice and more ice!

 

[copsham]

Hi @Grumpyjoe
Everything is trial and error at this early stage but you will get comfortable soon, be assured!

 

[beachgal]

It's true that everyone's recovery is different. Ice and pain meds are critical! You're doing great! Keep listening to your body!


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[Grumpyjoe]

Thanks again for positive words. I felt so good when I woke up I showered and changed the dressings. Ugh it looked nasty with all the bruising. May have pushed it in the shower. I am not comfortable sitting on hard or low so I stood. I have a hand held attachment so it was easy but balancing on one foot was a challenge. It is looking better each hour.

 

[Jaycey]

Do you have a walker @Grumpyjoe ? If you have one without wheels they are great to take into a walk-in shower. Something to lean on when needed. Or get a shower stool with feet you can raise. I used one post RTHR just to perch on when needed. Worked great with the hand held attachment.

 

[CricketHip]

Hi GrumpyJoe. You are sounding bit better today. I am living vicariously through all of you new hippies- I am fearful of narcotic meds, also so hearing your experience will help me accept and push through with the Dr's and nurses advice.
I hope you are feeling better with each passing hour and God bless your wife and she sounds like an angel. It's so nice to hear you give her credit for her help.

 

[Grumpyjoe]

So I will try to post a picture of my chair. Today was better than yesterday but pain at bedtime is still very high. Doc does not want me to take more than 5mg of Norco so hopefully tomorrow he will come up with something.

 

[Jamie]

Sorry for the rocky beginning with your pain management. That happens some time. Just be sure you're taking the meds on a set schedule through the day and night. And if it's not keeping your pain at bay, talk to your doctor and let him know. There are many, many options for pain meds.

 

[Grumpyjoe]

Meet my new little friends. Small jitterbug massage masters running off AA batteries. Most of the pain is tissue and muscles and these two beauties shake away most of the pain and work as well as Norco.

One step at a time. And each day gets better. I can roll onto the opposite hip to relieve pressure on butt and staples 20 to 30 minutes at a time. It is hard and sometimes very painful but when it works my Lil friends go to work followed by a good icing where I can not get to normally.

Everyone have a blessed day. God has blessed me with a very understanding and patient wife to help me get through this. Talk too you all later.

 

[copsham]

Well done grumpyjoe, you are getting through the early days and developments will start happening which is really exciting. Look forward to hearing from you as the days roll on!

 

[Grumpyjoe]

What a roller coaster ride. When the pain is bad it is really bad, the I am teased with an hour of normallity. I am passed as the pain works against controlling anger issues. I called my doctor and had to leave a message. I told them I do not have enough pain controls to make thru Sunday. Not exactly true as I still have bottles of Tramadol time release and morphine 15. I do not know the interactions with my coumadin if I were to take these.

Now my back also broke out with a rash. Water on a rag hurts but every 4 hours we wipe and apply cortisone for the itch. Works ok but it would be like sitting on a wool blanket in the summer naked. Not fun.

We are waiting for shift change at urgent care so we can call the 24 hour nurse line. Most likely they will tell me drive the 120 mile round trip to sit in a waiting room in horrible let chairs complicating the pain even more. We have done everything possible. Temp is barely over 100, no bruises or swells on legs. Toes have great circulation no chest pains. It just feels sore directly where the surgery was and mostly feels muscular.

Down side is I am now 5 days without bowel action. Taking stronger laxative stool softner. Also we went to ice cream as a remedy. Who cares if it works or make me fat it tastes good and I enjoy it.

I keep reading other posts and know any day everything changes. I am not looking for miracles but some relief. I pray everyone else is doing better than I am. I have no shame any more and fully admit this is making me a wuss. Rightfully so as it is a serious invasion to my body. I thought I was mentally and physically prepared but I was not. To morrow I will repost and hopefully have better news.

 

[copsham]

HI @Grumpyjoe

My thoughts which yo are welcome to take or leave:

• You are not a wuss!!! You have just had your hip/leg cut open, bone sawn and hacked around, insert put in and then put back together again. Trauma!
• Do not muck around with your medication. I don't know the US system but find the medic who can get this sorted properly for you. Are you icing and elevating as well ? It really does help the meds work.
• Get that constipation sorted, use suppositories or enema if necessary, sooner rather than later I went 8 days and I was more ill from that than from the hip Toxic! Suppositories worked for me
• The psychological effect of this is GREAT, more so for a "toughie". You have been a patient, been told what to do, been pulled inside out and then are vulnerable and needy, reliant on support. Be kind to yourself, many of us are tearful let it flow, don't hang on to the emotional pain.

It will turn round fairly quickly but when you are in "the pits" it seems never ending. You will get a degree better fairly quickly and once you do things will get better and better. Take care and be kind to yourself and the lovely wife of yours.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[beachgal]

Yeh, what @copsham said.

Do the enema asap. It will make a huge difference in how you feel.




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[Suzette]

Hi @Grumpyjoe , I honestly think we were all taken aback with the pain issues as in, not expecting them to be as bad as they actually turn out to be. We think we are ready and prepared....but nothing really prepares you for it. It comes as a total shock. Causing depression and anxiety....and frustration/anger.

Are you taking the coumadin for post op DVT prevention?

For pain meds I took tramadol and paracetamol and morphine as the emergency back up, usually at night. The tramadol weren't slow release though.

I will tag @Josephine for you to see if she can help with your pain med issue, just in case you get no joy with the help line.

Hang in there x

 

[beachgal]

@Grumpyjoe, just waiting to hear from you this morning and hoping that some/all of your issues have been somewhat resolved.

 

[CricketHip]

Hi grumpyJ
Hoping today is a good day for you.

 

[Josephine]

Ugh it looked nasty with all the bruising.

If it helps to know this is normal, look here Bruising after surgery

Down side is I am now 5 days without bowel action.

Here's another useful article Constipation and stool softeners

I still have bottles of Tramadol time release and morphine 15. I do not know the interactions with my coumadin if I were to take these.

No interactions. No worries!

Water on a rag hurts but every 4 hours we wipe and apply cortisone for the itch. Works ok

Try Anthisan cream. I use it all the time for my allergy (cats) rashes.

Temp is barely over 100

Thanks okay - perfectly normal.

It just feels sore directly where the surgery was and mostly feels muscular.

I'm going to ask you some questions and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what approach did you have for your surgery? Anterior, posterior, lateral? You can look here to see the various types THR approaches or incisions

2. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't compare this with the bone-on-bone pain you had before surgery!

) Also don't forget to include other forms of pain such as soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness

3. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

4. how often are you icing your hip and for how long?

5. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

6. what kind of PT exercises and exercises at home are you doing? How much and how often?

Can you detail it like this

Exercises done at home: 3 sessions a day
Heel slides x10 (reps)
Strait leg raises x10
Steps x10

At PT (if you're doing this yet)
Squats x5 (reps) x2 (sets)
Wall slides x5 x2
Clamshells X5 x2

 

[Susie4034]

Hi @Grumpyjoe glad your surgery is over. I also had no weight bearing for 6 weeks and am a little more than halfway through that. I found for the shower it made a huge difference to have a transfer shower bench. It was hard to balance on one leg at first, but each day it got a little easier and I became more stable.

 

[Grumpyjoe]

Well it is the 7th day. Still do not understand the pain. I take the pills but a trip to er yesterday explains why I hate pain pills. I set a record and the entire staff gave a standing ovation. I walked in crying pain levels around 15. Short exam, understanding doctor and in comes the chair. You know with the big red bag hanging down. Well let me tell you after liquid fleet the bag was not big enough. Now the toxicity in my waist will be gone and I can heal quicker. Doctor explained it as during surgery I dry and impact so all the coach will do nothing since I am already blocked.

Enough of the crappy talk. Pain is still an issue but mobility is amazing. I feel so much better today even with the pain. Forward movement only from now on.

 

[copsham]

Great to hear from you. I understand the horror of no bowel movement. I felt so, so, ill I decided constipation was far worse than a hip op!! So you can put all that behind you and get on with recovering. What is your mobility like now? Exciting times!